"This cannot go on!" In Shouchun, Yangzhou, Xu Shu stood in the tower and listened to the report of the scouts. Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army were getting closer and closer. Other than Lujiang, they had lost contact with the other places. Needless to say, Shouchun had fallen.
The Zhang Liu Army's speed could not be said to be slow. The scouts at the front reported that Liu Bei's Army and Zhang Xiu's Xiliang Cavalry would arrive at Shouchun in two days. If it was not for the issue of provisions, they would have already attacked Shouchun. After all, Liu Bei had taken so many cities but their provisions were still in the rear. Additionally, Zhang Xiu's provisions were provided by Liu Bei. Liu Bei had Liu Pi's many years of looting. It was enough to last a hundred thousand soldiers for more than a year.
"No reinforcements, no rations!" This was the most troublesome thing for Xu Shu. When he sent a request for reinforcements to Lujiang, the response he received was to stay behind and wait for reinforcements. It sounded nice but Xu Shu knew that there were no reinforcements. At the very least, there were no reinforcements now. At the very least, when Xu Shu sent the request for reinforcements, the reinforcements were not ready to leave. There was not much rations left in Shouchun. There were only two hundred people. All of them were heavy cavalry. These were the White Horse Cavalry left behind by Liu Mang. When they learned that Liu Bei's army was not in Yuzhou, Liu Mang had Zhao Yun bring the two hundred heavy cavalry back to help Xu Shu. At the very least, Xu Shu would have a mobile force in his hands.
Right now, Xu Shu did not expect to force Liu Bei to retreat. He only hoped to stall for time. This was because there was the Shouchun Industrial Park outside the city. There were many precious materials that had not been transported. Some of them had to be burned. These things could not fall into the hands of Liu Bei or Zhang Xiu. Before Liu Mang left, even if they were to be destroyed, they could not fall into the hands of the enemy. The ballista, ballista, books, and cement could not be leaked.
The industrial park had been built for a long time. How could it be easy to transport everything? This was why Xu Shu needed time. Now, the scouts at the front reported that there were two days left before Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army arrived at Shouchun. Xu Shu needed time to transport the industrial park. This was why he had to think of a way to delay Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army.
"Reporting to the military advisor! There are many ships coming from the Yingshui! They say that it is General Gan's fleet. "A messenger walked in and reported to Xu Shu.
"Gan Ning's fleet? Is the Lord back? "Xu Shu stood up and asked. If Liu Mang was back, then things would be much easier. Xu Shu could even have a good fight with Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army outside Shouchun.
"No, no! Military Advisor, General Gan's fleet does not have many people, but his ships are loaded with a lot of food. He wants you to send people to help transport it! "The messenger answered Xu Shu's question.
"Food!" Xu Shu's eyes flashed. What he lacked now was food. With enough food, even if Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army doubled, Xu Shu would not be afraid. After all, there were millions of people in Shouchun. If they were to help defend the city, how could the army take down Shouchun?
Xu Shu brought the messenger to Shouchun Water Camp and saw that it was indeed Gan Ning's navy floating on the Ying River. In fact, there was no need to distinguish because there were three navies above Ying River. One was Lao Cao's navy. Lao Cao's navy was in the Xiyang Shang Qiu area. It could only be regarded as a water patrol because there were less than a thousand people and they did not even have a big ship. All the elites were pulled by Lao Cao to the Yellow River to fight the Battle of Guandu with Yuan Shao. How would they dare to come to the Huai River? Not to mention the 10,000 navies under Liu Mang's command, even Liu Bei's 5,000 navies could beat them up. Therefore, Cao Cao's navy was very obedient and basically did not leave the water camp. The second was Liu Bei's navy. Liu Bei's navy had already become history. Originally, there were only 5,000 people and they were the kind of ordinary navy that did not even have ballistae. They also did not have many turrets. Gan Ning's 12,000 navies were sent to the bottom of the Huai River in a single charge. Therefore, the only navy left on the Huai River was Liu Mang's navy.
"These provisions!" Xu Shu was obviously expecting too much. Originally, Gan Ning's fleet were all navy warships and they were not transport ships. How much provisions could they bring? Looking at it now, it was already not bad if they could bring 10,000 shi. However, it was better than nothing. With these provisions, they could hold on for a while longer.
"Military Advisor!" Gan Ning commanded the navy to help Shouchun's troops transport the provisions. Gan Ning saw Xu Shu and cupped his fist towards him.
"General Gan, where is Milord's army now?" This was what Xu Shu was concerned about. Where exactly was Liu Mang's army now? Only by knowing some specific information could Xu Shu be more confident in resisting Liu Bei's and Zhang Xiu's allied forces.
"When I came back, Milord was about to attack Yingshang!" Gan Ning did not hide anything and told Xu Shu about the movements of Liu Mang's army.
"Yingshang!" Xu Shu's mind was thinking. The map of Yuzhou had been completely reflected in Xu Shu's mind. After Yingshang County was Ruyin and after that was Runan. They were separated by hundreds of li. Even if Liu Mang was fast, it would take several months to take Runan. Xu Shu slightly frowned. No matter what, he had to take care of the defense of Shouchun.
"Military Advisor, would you like to bring the navy to Shouchun with you to defend the city?" Gan Ning asked kindly. Although Gan Ning's troops were all navy, don't forget that Gan Ning's troops were still very strong. They were not worse than the Qing Province's soldiers on the battlefield.
"No need!" Xu Shu refused. Before Gan Ning's navy, Liu Mang had said that he would be of great use to them. The navy was not like the infantry. The infantry was faster than the infantry. They only needed to be taught formation and some battlefield skills. Some garrison troops, such as the 50,000 troops under Xu Shu's command, had a large number of people. However, they were just a motley crew. They were just cannon fodder and could be used directly on the battlefield.
But the navy was different. Not only did they need to know how to swim, they also needed to understand hydrology. On the river surface, the warship would sway. Especially when the battle started, if you were not familiar with the water ripples, you might not even be able to stand up. A qualified navy would not be able to join the warship without at least a year and a half. Most of Gan Ning's navy was formed by the Jiangxia Navy. Even some of the recruits were fishermen who lived along the river.
Therefore, it would be a huge loss to use them to defend the city. Moreover, even if Shouchun was lost, if the navy was still there, they could still go along the Huai River, cross the Hongze Lake, and then cross the Yangtze River to return to Lujiang.
"Then I will take my leave first!" Gan Ning cupped his fist. After transporting the provisions, Gan Ning's navy would need to return to Lujiang. Shouchun's harbor had not been completely repaired and the warship could not dock there.
Looking at Gan Ning's departure, Xu Shu, who had just calmed down a little, became tense again. How could he stop Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army and make them slow down their speed? Xu Shu looked around aimlessly. The bags of provisions and the porters.
"Provisions? Provisions? Postpone Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu's army! " Xu Shu's heart suddenly moved. His eyes lit up. Those who were familiar with Xu Shu would know that this was Xu Shu's expression after solving a problem. It was the expression of someone who had a heavy burden.
"Come, summon General Zhao Yun and bring two of our army's scouts to the meeting hall. The two scouts must be loyal to our army. It would be best if they have families in Lujiang or Shouchun!" Xu Shu said to the bodyguard beside him.
"Yes, Military Advisor!" The bodyguard cupped his fist and left.
Xu Shu also returned to the meeting hall in Shouchun. After a while, Zhao Yun and the two scouts arrived.
"Military Advisor!" Zhao Yun cupped his fist to Xu Shu. "May I know why Military Advisor Zhao Yun is here?" Liu Mang gave Zhao Yun's elite cavalry and the City Guard's cavalry battalion. He also changed the cavalry battalion into the White Horse Cavalry Battalion. Zhao Yun also gave Zhao Yun a lot of autonomy. It would be a lie if Zhao Yun said that he was not moved. Zhao Yun had no military achievements under Liu Mang's command. At most, he sent a message to Guan Yu when the fleet that was chasing after Guan Yu. Originally, when Liu Mang went north to Yuzhou to fight against Liu Bei, Zhao Yun also followed. He thought that he could fight together with Liu Mang's army. After all, he was a cavalry unit and had strong mobility. Liu Bei had many infantrymen. Once the cavalry attacked, except for the White Eared Heavy Armored Soldiers, it would be a nightmare for the other infantrymen. However, Liu Mang transferred Zhao Yun back when he knew that Liu Bei's main force was not in Yuzhou.
Now that Xu Shu had recruited him, there should be some big movement.
"Are these two scouts reliable?" Xu Shu asked the personal guard who had brought them over.
"Absolutely reliable!" The personal guard did not answer, but Zhao Yun answered for him. In fact, Xu Shu's question was superfluous. After Zhao Yun's White Horse Cavalry Battalion returned to Shouchun, the White Horse Cavalry Battalion was in charge of the City Guard's cavalry battalion. Almost all of them were City Guard veterans who had gone through fire and water with Liu Mang. They were either veterans of the Pengzhou Army or veterans of the Xuzhou Army. These people would not hesitate to die for Liu Mang. It could be said that if they were not reliable, then no one in Liu Mang's army was reliable.
"Is that so? I have a very important mission for the two of you. Scouts, are you willing to go? "Xu Shu asked the two scouts.
"We are willing!" The two scouts looked at each other and answered.
"Don't answer so quickly!" Xu Shu waved his hand. "This mission is a suicide mission. You might even enter the Hero Palace! Are you still willing? " Xu Shu had to communicate with the two scouts in advance because this mission was very important. If they failed, it might involve the industrial area outside Shouchun. The biggest consequence could even affect the lord's great cause. Therefore, Xu Shu had to be cautious.
"This!" The two scouts were also human. They were not trees, insects, or fish. They could think. What was the most terrifying thing to humans? That was death. No one could remain calm in the face of death. People were not afraid of death on the battlefield because they did not have time to think. But now, Xu Shu directly said that they might die in this mission. This kind of feeling was not something that ordinary people could bear.
"Military Advisor, I, Lou Shaoqi, am from Xuzhou. After Xuzhou was massacred by Cao Cao, I only have an eight-year-old sister in my family. She is now in Wancheng City. She is my only relative. I hope you can help me take care of my sister!" Lou Shaoqi said to Xu Shu.
"Lou Shaoqi, don't worry. Your sister is my, Xu Shu's, sister. I will treat her like my own sister. I will raise her and teach her the four arts. When she grows up, I will find her a good husband!" Xu Shu said to the scout who called himself Lou Shaoqi.
"Military Advisor, I, Feng He, was originally from the Pengzhou Army. My family died in the hands of foreigners. I joined the Old Lord's army to take revenge. Until now, I am still alone. Shaoqi and I are brothers. I also hope you can treat Shaoqi's sister well! If possible, I hope that when I die, Military Counselor can burn some paper money in front of my grave to tell me that Feng He was a bachelor. He was all alone in the world and didn't need to worry about his family.
"Hu!" Xu Shu closed his eyes. He didn't think that the two scouts would actually agree to his request. He also didn't think that their request would be so simple. According to Xu Shu's plan, these two scouts would definitely not be able to survive. They would definitely die. Thinking of this, Xu Shu nodded heavily.
"General Zhao Yun, it is time for General Zhao Yun's White Horse to fight!" Xu Shu took a command arrow from the main seat in the meeting hall. After Liu Mang left, the authority of Shouchun and even the entire Yangzhou was given to Xu Shu. Therefore, when Liu Mang was not around, Xu Shu had full authority. Xu Shu walked to Zhao Yun's side.
"Where is Zhao Yun?" Xu Shu shouted loudly.
"This general is here!" Zhao Yun quickly knelt down. His White Horse was about to move. How could Zhao Yun not be excited? He also wanted to see how strong White Horse Congyi, who valued the new army, was.
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